A medicine counting device that counts many medicines has been described in Patent Document 1: Republic of China new patent Notice No. M308903. This medicine counting device consists of a central circular plate member rotated by a first drive means, and a circular ring member rotated by a second drive means. The rotational axes of each of the circular plate member and the circular ring member are made coaxial so as to be mutually planar, and they are rotated in opposite directions by each drive means. Also, a medicine guide section extending outwards is provided in the outer circumference of the circular ring member.
However, in this medicine counting device, a number of medicines that were not supplied to the medicine guide section are transported in the opposite direction on the circular ring member and on the circular plate member. Due to this, the medicine that moves from the plate member to the circular ring member collides with the medicine that is already moving on the circular ring member, and the medicine that was moved from the circular ring member to the plate member also collides with the medicine on the plate member. As a result, in case of a medicine that is in the form of a tablet made by compressing the medicine, there is a problem of occurrence of cracking and chipping.
On the other hand, Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1-51403 (Translation of PCT Application) describes a feeder effecting supply by aligning small items. This feeder is provided with a first disk-shaped rotor that is rotated by a first drive means, and a second ring-shaped rotor that is rotated by a second drive means. The first axis of the first rotor is arranged so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle, and the second axis of the second rotor is arranged so as to extend in a vertical direction. Further, the first rotor is configured such that the part that is positioned at the top end due to inclination is positioned at the same height of the inner circumference of the second rotor. In addition, in the inner circumference of the second rotor, a frame wall is provided integrally so as to enclose the outer circumference of the first rotor.
In the feeder according to the Patent document 2, the feed material is moved from the upper edge to the second rotor by the rotation of the first rotor. Thereupon, with the help of a regulator provided on the second rotor, only a feed material of designated posture is passed through to the downstream side, and a feed material of different posture is dropped from the inner circumference of the second rotor onto the first rotor. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the feed materials, which are being supplied, from colliding with each other.
However, when such a feeder is used for feeding medicines, two or more feed materials may pass through the regulator at the same time, and be fed to the guide section at the outlet in a state where the feed materials are lined up in two rows in the radial direction. As a result, there is a problem of occurrence of clogging at the entrance of the guide section. Moreover, if the medicine is a tablet of non-circular in a planar view or a capsule wherein a medicine is housed inside the capsule, even if they are fed one by one, for example, there is a problem of occurrence of clogging at the entrance of the guide section, or inside the guide section, depending on the moving posture.
The present invention is proposed in view of the above aforementioned problems. The present invention provides a medicine feeding device wherein medicines of different shapes and sizes can be fed one by one with certainty and without causing cracking and chipping. Secondly, the present invention provides a medicine counting device, using the medicine feeding device of the present invention that can dispense predetermined number of medicine with certainty.